
Microbes are single-celled organisms that rule our world. They keep humans, plants, and soil healthy except for few pathogens. They sustainably produce valuables from foods to medications. Microbes exist as interdependent, agonistic and antagonistic members in complex communities called microbiomes. They often interact with eukaryotes.
The focus area MDDW provides a platform for multidisciplinary life science projects framed by ethical and societal aspects. It builds on strengths in biotechnology and bioinformatics in the age of synthetic biology and machine learning to study and improve microbiomes. We will test hypotheses emerging from large scale microbiome analyses using synthetic interventions to understand and enhance complex networks of life.

September 28 – 30, 2026
15th Int. CeBiTec Research Conference Bielefeld - Advances in Industrial Biotechnology: From metabolic design to biomanufacturing - Bridging scales and data
For a conference recap see section Activities.